Metallic railway-tie.



No. 69|,647. l Patented 1an. 2|, 1902.-

. w.,H. MElsER.

METALLIC RAILWYYTIE.

(Application filed Oct. 10, 1901.)

5 nu@ -V l citizen of the United States, residing at Lin-V i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. MEISER, F LINGLESTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.

M ETALLIC RAILWAY-TIE.,

SPECIFICATION forming' part of Letters Patent No. 691,647, dated January 21, 1902.

Application filed October 10, 1901-4 Serial No. 78,262. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom, it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. MEISER, a

glestown, inthe county of Dauphinfand State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Metallic Railway-Tie, of which the following is a specification. f

The invention relates to improvements in metallic railway-ties.

The object of the present invention is to irnprove the construction' of cross-ties for railroads and to provide a metallic cross-tie of great strength and durability adapted to afford a support for rails of the necessary spring or resiliency and capable of enabling the rails to be readily applied to and removed from it.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully'described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View of a cross-tie constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of one end of the cross-tie. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view of the same. Figs. tand 5 are detail views of the tools for removing the wedge which locks the fastening devices in engagement with the rail.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

l designates a metallic Vcross-tie composed of sides 2, and bottom sections 3, formed integral with the sides and located at opposite sides of the center of the cross-tie, and the sides are provided with central openings 4, arranged at the central opening 5 of the bottom, and adapted to permit the ballast of the road-bed to be filled into the center of the cross-tie, whereby the latter will be firmly anchored and held against movement. The sections of the bottom of the cross-tie are preferably provided at their ends with depending transverse ribs 6, adapted to be embedded in the ballast anddesigned to assist in preventing the cross-tie from moving longitudinally.

The sides of the cross-tie receive inner and outer clamps 7 and 8, arranged in pairs at the ends of the cross-ties and adapted to engage plates 9, which form the top of the cross-tie and Which receive rails 10. The clampingplates are provided with upper and lower jaws, forming recesses lland 12 for the reception of the ends of the plates, and these recesses or grooves 11 and 12 are tapered to receive the beveled or tapered end edges 13 of the plates, whereby the latter are securely and firmly clamped. p

The inner clamp 7 is set in recesses 14 of the sides of the crosstie and is secured to the same by meansvof bolts 15, passing downward through perforations of the clamp 7 and the sides 2 of the c`ross-tie and provided with nuts 16, arranged in openings 17 of the said sides 2, whereby the nuts are held against rotation.-

The outer clamp 8 has its lower jaw offset from. the lower face 'of the outer portion of the clamp and arranged in recesses 18 of the sides of the cross-tie, and the outer portion of the clamp is perforated for the reception of bolts 19, which extend downward through perforations of the sides of the cross-tie to openings 20, which receive the nuts 2l of the bolts 19. The openings 2O arerectangular and are adapted to prevent the nuts from'rotating.

The plate 9, which is secured or held against lateral movement by bolts 22 and 23, is provided adjacent to its beveled ends with transverse grooves, forming reduced resilientportions 25, adapted to permit the central rails'upporting portion of the plate 9 to spring, whereby the cross-tie will afford the spring or resiliency of a wooden cross-tie. The inner bolt 22, which is arranged vertically, is disposed at the center of the clamp 7 and passes through perforations of the upper and lower jaws thereof and4 engages a recess 26, formed in the adjacent beveled edge of the plate 9. The other bolt 23, which passes through the jaws of the clamp 8, also passes through a perforation of the adjacent end of the rail-supporting plate. This construction IOO for the reception of rail-engaging clamps 28, l consisting of vertical bars or Shanks and heads, which are arranged at the upper ends of the barsor shanks and engage the bottom iianges of the rails, or the lower portions of fish-plates when angle [ish-plates are employed at the rail-joints. The shanks are provided with openings 29, adapted to receive a wedge 30,'extending longitudinally of the cross-tie and interposed between the bottom walls ot' the slots or openings 29 and a lug or enlargementJ 3l, depending from the center of the rail-supporting plate and located between the openings thereof. The bottom of the cross-tie is provided with upwardly-extending sockets 32, receiving the lower ends of the shanks or bars of the rail-clamps and supporting the same against lateral movement.

The wedge when in engagement with the clamps is adapted to hold the latter firmly in engagement with the rails, and it is provided at its outer portion with a series of teeth 33, forming a ratchet which is engaged by a resilient pawl or spring 34, secured to the lower face of the outer clamping-plate 8 and extending downward and inward, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. The lower end of the resilient pawl or spring engages the wedge, and as the teeth of the ratchet are beveled at the inner side and shouldered at the outer side the pawl or spring will not resist the inward movement of the wedge, but will lock the same against outward movement. The wedge is provided at its outer portion with a lower recess, forming a shoulder 35, adapted to be engaged by a lever 36. The lever 36, which has an angularly-bent lower portion,is provided with a slot or opening to receive the outer end of the wedge. The lever is adapted to be fulcrumed on the end of the cross-tie and to be oscillated to withdraw the Wedge when the spring or pawl is disengaged from the ratchet. This is effected by means of the bar 37, provided with an offset engaging end having a recess forming a pair of arms. The bar is adapted to be introduced into the cross-tie through the opening of the lever for disengaging the spring or pawl and for holding the same out of engagement while the wedge is being withdrawn.

The cross-tie is provided adjacent to the inner terminals of the bottom sections with transverse walls 38, adapted to exclude the ballast from the end portions ot the cross-tie and to provide means for engaging the ballast of the road to assist in holding the cross-tie against longitudinalmovemcnt. These transverse walls are provided with openings 39, arranged in alinement with the openings of the rail-clamps and adapted to permit the wedge to extend to it should a long wedge be used.

The sides of the cross-tie are provided with upper recesses Ll0, and the upper edges of the sides 2 are spaced from the central portion or' the rail-supporting plate suliciently to peri mit the cushioning action of those plates.

lt will be seen that the cross-tie possesses great strength and durability, that it is simple and comparatively inexpensive in construction, and that it affords a yielding or resilient support for the rails. It will also be seen that the rails are firmly and detachably secured to the plates 9 and that the fastening devices for holding the rail-clamps in engagement with the rails are concealed within the ends of the cross-tie and are protected by the same.

It will be apparent that as the lower ends of the Shanks or bars of the rail-clamps terminate short of the bottoms of the sockets the latter will not interfere with the cushioning action of the plate.

What I claim is- 1. The combination of a cross-tie having its central portion open at the top, bottom, and sides, said cross-tie being composed of sides provided with central openings, bottom sections connecting the sides and spacedv apart to form the central bottom opening, transverse walls arranged at the inner ends of the bottom sections, and rail-supports arranged at the top of the cross-tie, substantially as described.

:2. The combination of a cross-tie, a railsupporting plate secured at its ends to the top of the cross-tie and provided with a central resilient portion arranged to receive a rail and adapted to permit the same to yield, and means for secu ring the rail, substantially as described.

3. The combination of a cross-tie, a railsupporting plate arranged at the top of the cross-tie and secured at its ends to the saine, said plate being provided at opposite sides of its center with reduced portions forming a resilient central portion, and means for securing the rails, substantially as described.

i. The combination of a cross-tie, inner and outer clam ps intel-locked with the sides of the cross-tie and secured to the same, and a resilient rail-supporting plate engaged by the clamps and adapted to receive a rail, substantially as described.

The combination of a cross-tie provided at its sides with recesses, the inner and outer clamps interlocked with the recesses and provided with jaws, means for securing the clamps to the cross-tie, a plate having its edges arranged between the jaws of the clamps, said l plate being adapted to receive a rail, and

means for securing the rail to the plate, substantially as described.

r3. The combination of a cross-tie, the inner and outer clamps interlocked with the sides of the cross-tie and provided with upper and lower jaws, the resilient rail-supporting plate engaged by the jaws, fastening devices passlng through the jaws and engaging the plate, 1 and means forsecuring a rail to the plate, substantially as described.

.v The combination of a cross-tie provided at its bottom with sockets, a resilient railsupporting plate mounted on the cross-tie, clamps IOJ IIO

securing the rail to the plate and extending downward to the sockets and terminating short of the bottom thereof, whereby the sockets are adapted to support the clamps against lateral movement without interfering with the cushioning action of the rail-supporting.

wedge against outward movement, substantially as described.

10. The combination of a cross-tie, a plate arranged at the top of the cross-tie and provided with openings, said plate being also provided with a depending portion or lug 31, railclamps extending through the openings, and a wedge engaging the depending portion or lug 3l of the plate and the clamps and provided With a shoulder, substantially as and for the purpose described.

vIn testimony that I claim the foregoing asI my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

. WM. H.

` Witnesses: Y y

E. E. DOYLE, FRANK S. APPLEMAN.v 4

MEISER.' A 

